Melissa Charles author

The query trenches is an emotional rollercoaster. There’s the rare unicorn that sends out a dozen queries, receives ten requests for their full manuscript, then eight offers. Which is amazing and wonderful and mind-blowing, but absolutely not the norm.

For most of us, it’s a long, slow, tedious slog. Emotionally, anyway. Actual time elapsed is variable. It wasn’t until I looked through my email that I realized the time from sending a query to a full request to The Call was only three freaking months. I genuinely thought it had been forever. No doubt influenced by the fact it was my third trip to the trenches (it all kind of blurs together at some point), but holy cats, three months is like lightening speed in publishing.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had two previous agents, and also had two manuscripts in the trenches that received zero offers. So, I’ve definitely experienced a wide range of ‘what the heck is going on?’ that querying can offer.

The hardest advice I ever got about how to survive the query trenches is also the best advice. Write the next thing.

I know, I know, it sounds trite. Impossible. Ridiculous. How can anyone possibly be expected to focus on a new story when they’re jumping at every notification from the inbox, when they’re researching agents, putting together query letters, wrestling a synopsis into submission?

But it’s true. Being able to move on to the next thing, to funnel all that energy into creating something new, is the best way I’ve found to handle the anxiety of querying, or being on submission.

Well, that and sourdough. I don’t think I’m alone in falling into the rabbit hole of sourdough baking. It gives me something productive to do, the family likes it, and makes me feel like I’ve actually accomplished something for the day. Plus, if something goes wrong, there’s a tangible reason for it. Starter wasn’t at peak, dough over proofed, didn’t proof enough, etc. Solid reasons, unlike the vague reasons often given for rejections, or straight up silence.

Same goes for chandling. Yes, I’ve also made candles. And a podcast, that I really need to get back to.

Anyways.

I strongly recommend starting a new manuscript while in the query trenches. Writing is a skill and practice is the best way to improve any skill.

I know, I know, it doesn’t sound exciting or magical or even necessarily fun. But that doesn’t make it any less true.

Or take a break from writing completely, plunge into a hobby, then come back to writing once you’ve recovered.

But in the end, it always comes back to writing the next thing, because we’re more than a single story. Our careers encompass many.

And that’s the thing, right there: this is about building a career, one book at a time.

You’ve got this.